02-07-2025, 01:18 PM
(02-06-2025, 10:11 PM)fullmetal Wrote: Yeah, there was a rumor that Luka showed up to training camp at 270 lbs. But...the rumor mill is wild by nature. He is young, after all.
ESPN has a great story on how the trade came together
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/4367...-mavericks
Two more things:
1. Luka will not be eligible for a $345 million super max contract after the '26-'26 season. Also, he now has to pay California state income taxes (none in Texas).
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/06/luka-don...-more.html
2. The Adelsons will now dodge the luxury tax (salary cap), which I think comes out of the pockets of the owners. Anthony Davis waived his $6 million trade bonus to make that happen.
https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nba/news...20rqewn9d7
https://www.si.com/nba/anthony-davis-det...rade-bonus
https://www.spotrac.com/nba/dallas-mavericks/tax
Davis was unhappy playing all his minutes at Center for the Lakers. If he thought that staying on the Lakers was causing excessive wear and tear on his injury prone body, then $6 million is a small price to pay to go to a team where he can play more minutes at Power Forward. The Mavericks have Lively, Gafford and Powell at Center, so Davis probably will be able to play further from the basket now. Plus, as you say, Davis will pay less income tax now. I can understand the reasons he welcomed the trade. Those same factors don't necessarily make the trade good for the Mavericks though.
As a Laker fan, I obviously hope that Luka will learn conditioning/health habits from LeBron. There aren't many players in the league who show the same discipline as LeBron does in taking care of his body. That's part of the reason that LeBron has been able to play more total minutes and games than anyone in NBA history (counting regular season and playoffs).
When I registered here in 2014, TrumpCard seemed like an apolitical user ID...